US Weather Forecast: Country's Eastern Half to Receive Rain, Snow Precipitation Due to Low Pressure Area [NWS]

US weather forecast shows that the eastern half of the country is expected to receive rain and pockets of snow on Thursday, December 28. This is according to the recent short-range forecast of the National Weather Service (NWS), which shows that a new weather system in the form of a low-pressure area is responsible for the looming rain and snow precipitation from Thursday and possibly until the weekend.

The latest Eastern US weather forecast comes after a related weather outlook earlier this week predicted that colder air will once again bring snow over the Southern US and Central Appalachians amid a storm. In addition, the forecast in the region follows a weather advisory regarding a flooding rain that will hit the East Coast by midweek.

Eastern US Weather Forecast

In its Eastern US weather forecast on Thursday, the NWS' Weather Prediction Center (WPC) is expecting the occurrence of scattered areas of mixed rain and snow over the central to the eastern parts of the country. This weather hazards will continue around the weakening but large circulation of a former winter storm.

In the said region, the meteorologists expect heavy rain and flood threat linked with the coastal low, which is set to depart from Mid-Atlantic or southern New England on the later part of Friday. In addition, the WPC mentions unsettled weather that is lingering near the US West Coast for the next coming days.

Furthermore, the US weather agency reported above normal temperatures across the Northern US, which will be contrasted by the relatively lower temperatures in the Southern US.

Winter Weather Hazards

The current North American winter season is far from over, meaning winter weather hazards in different parts of the US are expected to continue until the remainder of the year and even in early January 2024.

Earlier in December, millions of Americans in different regions were under winter weather advisories issued by the NWS. These weather alerts are due to the persistence of winter storms in the northern tier of the US, particularly, in the Pacific Northwest, North, and Northeast regions.

A week before Christmas Day, the Eastern US was also hammered by a raging winter storm, which brought heavy rain and strong winds across the region. The storm caused power outages that affected hundreds of thousands of people.

In its updated US winter outlook for the 2023-2024 season, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) in October 2023 predicted a wetter South US and a warmer North US.

Meanwhile, the general weather for the country until the end of the winter in February will be wetter-than-average conditions, including in the Western US, and drier-than-average conditions in the northern Rockies and High Plains.

During this period, winter weather hazards, along with heavy rain and thunderstorms, are still possible across the US, based on similar weather phenomena observed in previous years.